Risdon reigns (or rains) supreme at opening Players’ Tour event

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Category: Inside Golf

Published: 2017-06-05

By Gord Montgomery (iG)

EDMONTON — The more things change - like the weather in greater-Edmonton over an 18-hour period - the more they stay the same - like Dustin Risdon walking away with another PGA of Alberta title.

Playing in horrible conditions including winds gusting up to 100k/kmh and driving rain, on the second day of the 36-hole PGA of Alberta Players’ Tour event, Risdon came away with the win at The Ranch Golf & Country Club. He paired an opening round 4-under par 68 with an amazing second round of 69 to finish at minus-5, a full eight shots clear of runner-up Kent Fukishima.

The Calgary pro, who works out of the National Golf Academy @ McCall Lake, sat second after Day 1, two shots behind the first-round leader Craig Gibson from Scirocco GC in Calgary. The first day’ saw the temperature around plus 28 with a hint of a breeze but things changed for the worse on Day 2, with players teeing off in temperatures 22 degrees below the day before, along with  the driving rain and wind.

In fact, the weather was so bad Risdon said he didn’t even think they’d be going out for Round 2. “I didn’t think we were playing. I showed up for the tee time and was like, “Really? We’re all playing?”

What made things even a bit tougher for Risdon was the fact he wasn't weather-prepared but thankfully for him, a helping hand was found. “I didn’t even have a rain jacket,” the winner stated. “I borrowed Mike’s from the PGA, threw it on, and went and played.”

The winner said he got off to a strong start on the second day and that was motivation enough to keep him going forward, rain, wind, and all.

“I birdied the first hole so that kind of made it easier on me, thinking that it wasn’t impossible out there. Then, I just tried to not make any big mistakes, to tell you the truth. I made it 15 holes without making a big mistake. Then I hit it in the trees (which guard the right side of the fairway) on 16 and made double.

“I kept it in gear for 15 holes, then kind of slipped, but birdied 17 and 18 to make up for the double,” Risdon said of his amazing play on a horrible day.

Interestingly enough, the Calgary pro said he didn’t know how the leaderboard read at any time during the final round, although he was playing with his two closest competitors at the start of the day, Gibson and Wes Heffernan, who shot scores of 80 and 78 respectively.

“I figured I had the lead going into the last four holes but I had no idea by how much. I thought if I could just finish decent I’d probably have it and if not, I’d probably be close.”

The bad news for the rest of the pros Risdon tees it up against was these were only his third and fourth rounds of the year. “I haven’t played at all, really. Just hit some balls on the mat at the dome. That’s about it.”

The good news though, for those same guys who oppose him, is that Risdon feels he’s not going to be able to play as much this year as last given a busy work schedule. “I’m slammed at work, so I’ll just focus on the big ones. The championships and things like that,” and not worry about what the weather conditions are like.

For the win, Risdon collected $1,825 while Fukushima earned $1,150 and Gibson $950.

About the writer: Gord Montgomery is a retired sports editor of two weekly newspapers in the Edmonton area and is a member of the Golf Journalists Association of Canada. He is now in his ninth year of writing for Inside Golf.

He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. He’s also on Twitter at @gordinsidegolf and on Instagram at gordinsidegolf2.